


Enchantment Activated

by Akiko_Natsuko



Series: Fraxus [39]
Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Guilt, M/M, Magic, Promises, Protectiveness, Self-Sacrifice, Serious Injuries, Trust
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-06
Updated: 2019-02-06
Packaged: 2019-10-23 12:30:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,316
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17683478
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Akiko_Natsuko/pseuds/Akiko_Natsuko
Summary: Fairy Tail had played the trump card it hadn't even been aware it had to block Wall's attack, and they were unprepared for the second shot.However, Freed wasn't... determined to protect the guild no matter what.





	Enchantment Activated

    There was blood in his mouth as he came too, unsure of how long he had been out, although as he heard the rubble still settling into place around them, he knew that it couldn’t have been long. _It wasn’t enough,_ he thought bitterly as he tried to push himself up, his entire body protesting the moment and he had to pause for a moment to take stock. There was a burning pain in his side, as though he had been stabbed, and it took his scattered mind a little too long to remember how the pain had pierced through him when the hole had been torn in his enchantment. It was one of the costs of that level of enchantment, that your body was bound to it, and could share in the damage if it was severe enough. Now, it was lost amongst the dull throbbing that flooded every inch of his body from where he had flung himself at Ichiya, trying to take the worst of the blast.

He hadn’t even succeeded in that.

     His arms shook as he pushed himself upright, realising that someone, and he suspected Ichiya had moved them while he was unconscious, laying them out side by side, and his expression darkened as his gaze travelled over Bickslow and Evergreen, taking in the damage they had taken. It hadn’t dawned on him first, but they shouldn’t have been there, they shouldn’t have been caught up in the explosion because he had been the closest. _They tried to protect me too…_ It left a bitter taste in his mouth, and his shoulders bowed. _I was supposed to protect them. To protect the guild…_ It had rubbed him the wrong way to leave them to defend him in the first place, bound in place by the enchantment, but this…

    He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. There would be time for self-recrimination later when they were safe, and this war was over. It didn’t ease the guilt, but it gave him focus, and he slowly opened his eyes again, only to blink as he realised that they were short one person. “Ichiya-san…?” There was no reply, although the tattered remnants of the older man’s white coat told him that it hadn’t been some kind of fever dream, and for a moment he sank back on his haunches. Maybe he had gone for help, and if he was capable of that, then maybe Freed hadn’t failed quite as badly as he’d thought. It was cold comfort as he glanced over his teammates once more, seeing no sign of them regaining consciousness, and he was worried about what other damage lay hidden beneath the surface, and it was enough to get him moving.

     The past pressing in on him as he pushed himself upright on wobbly legs. It was just like back then, when all he had been able to do was make sure they got back to the guild, although this time the burn in his chest came from the pain stealing his breath, rather than anti-ethernano stealing his magic, as he staggered forward a couple of steps. His mind was racing, unsure of whether he actually had the strength left to do what he had done back then, his magic while not under attack this time, was little more than a flicker after his efforts with the barrier, and his vision blurred for a minute, exhaustion threatening to pull him back down to the ground.

    Closing his eyes again, he tried to ride out the dizzy spell, slowly becoming aware of the fractured words that were coming through Warren’s telepathy. He wasn’t sure whether there was interference, or whether it was his own scrambled thoughts that were making it hard to focus, but for several minutes all he heard was broken words that made no sense. It was too late that he realised there was another attack incoming. An attack that he couldn’t protect them from, and he closed his eyes, waiting for the telepathy to disappear, and for the sound of a distant explosion to signify his failure.

It never came.

     He had never thought that he would be so glad to hear Ichiya’s voice broadcasting across the city, and he had wavered, nearly collapsing with relief as he realised what the older man had done. _He protected what I couldn’t, and yet I allowed myself to think him weak…_ his hands clenched at this side, trembling. _I couldn’t protect them._ He could hear the broadcast, and deep beneath the frustration and self-recrimination he felt a flicker of hope as he realised that they weren’t going to be fighting alone anymore, but it was distant, numbed because they’d already needed someone else to fight them.

_They’ll fire again._

    The thought struck him with cold certainty, piercing through the doubts with the force of Laxus’ lightning. It was what he would do in their place, now that the barrier was down, and they had used their unexpected trump card already. Fairy Tail was wide open, and he knew that their enemies were not people who would ignore that, and he turned to look at where his runes remained on the ground, damaged in places from the explosion. Too damaged to bring back the barrier as it had been, but not beyond use…

“The barrier…” He didn’t have the strength, he knew that even if his legs hadn’t just threatened to cave beneath him again. But there was no other choice.  He knew that it was just a building, trusting Laxus and the others to evacuate before it was too late…but at the same time it was more than that, especially now they had just rebuilt it. If they lost the Guildhall at this point, then morale would crumble, something they couldn’t afford at this stage in the battle. This had just been the first skirmish if they let it fall now. “It’s the only way…” He wasn’t sure who he was trying to convince, but it was enough to get him moving, sparing a last worried glance at his teammates as he turned and limped back towards his runes.

_This time I will protect you…_

There was no time for the finesse he had used earlier, and with the runes damaged, and the enchantment having broken earlier, it wasn’t going to hold long. It didn’t have to. One more time, if we can hold them off once more, we should gain a reprieve no matter how brief. He had felt the power of the blast that Ichiya had shielded them from, and he doubted a second would be able to match it in terms of sheer power…and a third was unlikely. _I might be wrong._ He hated the uncertainty, the fact that even their Master hadn’t been able to quantify exactly what they would be going up against, and while he would typically trust in his estimates, the doubts were still there, eating away at him.

     They weren’t enough to stop him getting to his knees in the middle of the runes, although it might have been more accurate to say that he fell to his knees, the world whiting out for a second as the jolt sent pain lancing through his body. He clung doggedly to consciousness, blinking heavily as he placed his hands on the runes. “E-Enchantment activated.” His voice cracked and broke with exhaustion, and for a horrifying moment nothing seemed to happen, but then he felt the magic take, the barrier beginning to spread around him. It was weak and flickering compared to earlier, moving sluggishly beyond the bounds of the Cathedral, and he was already breathing heavily, sweat beading on his forehead once more.

_More. It needs more._

    There was only one to bridge the hole that had been torn in the enchantment and the gaps in the runes, and he closed his eyes as he focused. No longer just forcing the flickering sparks of his magic into the enchantment, but everything he had – his strength, the throbbing pain in every inch of his body, each ragged breath, and the resolve that flooded through him, driven by guilt and frustration, and the overwhelming need to protect the guild.

_I am going to protect it all, no matter what it takes…_

*

“They’ve fired again!” Warren’s terrified shout silenced the celebrations that had broken out when they’d realised that Ichiya’s actions had saved the guild and that they were no longer alone in this fight, fear gripping them once more as they turned back to his display and saw the streak heading straight for them.  “It’s not as large as the last one, but…” _But…_ he didn’t need to finish the sentence, because they all knew what he meant. They were out of options. Christina lay in smoking ruins, several members having already run to extract Ichiya from the ruined control room, and there had still been no word from the Raijinshuu.

“Evacuate!” The order that had been abandoned only seconds ago became a frantic shout as Makarov and Laxus herded everyone towards the door, punctuated by Warren’s voice counting of the distance once more.

“Six hundred, Five hundred…”

     Outside they could see it now, nowhere near as overwhelming as the first one, but still as destructive as it rushed towards them. It seemed almost inevitable now that it would hit, and there were tears on more than one face as they braced themselves for the destruction of their home. Then a miracle happened, as the barrier that had saved them from the airships earlier flickered back into life just as the blast hit the outskirts of the city. Muffled explosions and plumes of smoke rising into the air told them that it hadn’t been thwarted entirely, but with the evacuation of the town complete, they knew the damage would only be structural.

“The barrier…”   

“It’s Freed!”

“We’re saved.”

     Relief gave way to celebration, as they watched the last of the magical blast dissipating into the night sky, and as cheers spread through the guild once more, Makarov and Mavis shared a quick glance and a relieved sigh. It wasn’t over, their enemies pressing in from all sides, but the guild was safe…the guild in high spirits. Apart from Laxus, they realised as the Dragon-slayer shoved his way through to Warren who was clutching his screen to his chest, tears streaming down his cheeks as he stared up at the intact guildhall. However, a quick glance at Laxus’ stern features had him glancing down at the tablet and pressing his fingers to his forehead as he tried once more to reach the team at the Cathedral. He could feel the guild-members scatted around the town, even the ones further afield, and the other guilds that were now answering Ichiya’s call to arms, but from the Raijinshuu there was nothing but silence, and he swallowed nervously before shaking his head.      

“I still can’t reach them…”

     Laxus growled under his breath, lightning sparking around him as he glanced back up at the barrier. He had been beyond worried when they had lost contact, and the sight of the barrier, rather than bringing relief, was only exacerbating that concern, because even as he watched jagged cracks began to spread across the barrier. _Freed…_ Enchantments were something he knew little about, although he had made sure to learn a little, especially after a particularly bad mission had demonstrated how much such spells could take from the Rune Mage, and that the idiot never worried about that or his own limitations. It was why the cracks worried him because it meant that Freed was fighting to hold it up when it should just have been allowed to fall. _And at what cost?_

“Laxus!” Mavis called, breaking into his whirling thoughts, and he tensed, ready to argue if she intended to send him into the fight because right now he couldn’t focus on anything but Freed and the others. However, he needn’t have worried as she gestured towards where the smoke was still rising from Kardia Cathedral. “Go. We will send Mirajane and the others to join you.” Laxus didn’t need telling twice, and his magic crackled around him as he launched himself into the air.

_Freed, hold on…_

*

     When he careened into the ground outside the cathedral a couple of minutes later, his lightning scorching the ground and shattering several of the windows, it was to find that Mira’s team were waiting on him. He was about to snarl at them for waiting, when he realised why, eyes widening as he took in the pulsating green barrier now surrounding the building, and it only took him a second to realise that it was the same barrier that had protected the town shrunken to a smaller scale. Something cold and unpleasant settled in the pit of his stomach then, because he knew that meant that Freed was barely able to maintain…and that to choose to protect this building, meant that Evergreen or Bickslow, or both were hurt because the idiot would never consider going this far just to protect himself.

 “We can’t get inside,” Mira told him, the concern in her eyes doing little to help him contain his own, as she reached out to push at the barrier, wincing as the runes flared and crackled beneath her touch. It did no damage, but the threat was there, and Laxus knew that if they just tried to push inside, then Freed would retaliate.  “The barrier is keeping us out, and we couldn’t get a reply.”

“Freed!” Laxus shouted, praying that Freed would respond to him even if he wouldn’t to the others, and he stepped forward, pushing himself up against the barrier as he tried to get a clear look inside. It was uncomfortable, the barrier needling at him, trying to push him back but he ignored it, raising his voice as he thought that he heard movement inside. “Freed, it’s me Laxus!” Normally, he would have no doubt that Freed would recognise him, no matter what state he was in, but something told him he needed to make the distinction today.  “You need to let us inside!!”

    It felt like forever, before he definitely heard movement inside, although it didn’t seem to be coming towards him, and then, sweet as a bell, a broken voice rang out. “L-Laxus…” The Dragon-slayer didn’t like the exhaustion or pain in Freed’s voice or the way it wavered and cracked, as though he was a step away from breaking. “Thank god…” Before he could shout again, worry making him more impatient than usual, the barrier flickered and broke, dissipating in a shower of emerald sparks.

    It might have been a beautiful sight was he not more focused on getting inside, not waiting for the others as he dashed inside, only to come to a halt at the scene of devastation that met his eyes. _What happened here?_ He eyed the piles of rubble, the marks of an explosion and growl bubbled up in the back of his throat. _Who did this?_ Then his gaze landed on Freed, and all questions were forgotten as he watched Freed listing to the side, his magic still flickering around him, and casting an eerie light across his too-pale features and Laxus had a feeling that it was only sheer stubbornness keeping him upright right now.

    For a second, he was torn as he saw Bickslow and Evergreen laid out unmoving on the ground, but Elfman was already rushing to them with his sisters in tow, and for now, he was content to trust them with his other teammates.

“Freed,” he called as he moved towards the other man, not about to approach unannounced, as there was a wildness in the somewhat unfocused gaze that worried him, and it wouldn’t be the first time he had rushed in and come away with claw marks if the demon was a little to close to the surface. He needn’t have worried, because the moment he had spoken, the tension had eased out of Freed. Which wasn’t a good thing he realised a split second later as Freed listed more to the side with the loss of the tension, and didn’t stop there, making no effort to catch himself. “Freed? Freed!” He darted across the distance and dropped down next to Freed, reaching for him with cautious hands, another growl rising as he got a look at the damage that had been done to the other man. “Freed…?”

    It was worse when he rolled Freed over, easing him up until Freed’s head was resting in his lap, because he could see the sweat beaded across his skin, which had been bleached of colour, making the cuts and forming bruises stand out more vividly. Freed’s lips were parted, his ragged breathing speaking of his earlier efforts, and Laxus’ expression darkened as he realised that he could feel no magical presence at all from Freed, knowing better than most just how much magic the other man had hidden beneath the surface, and for that to be gone… his fingers were trembling as he reached out to brush against Freed’s cheek, not liking how clammy he felt to the touch or the way that his touch barely drew more than a small furrowing of Freed’s brow. “What did you do?”

“I-I told you…” The sudden voice startled him and was stunned to see that Freed’s eyes were half-open, especially as he realised how unfocused the other’s gaze was. However, Freed was gripping his arm now, fingers curling around his wrist in a way that the Rune Mage would only allow himself with his teammates, which reassured him that Freed was at least half aware of who was holding him. “We were going to p-protect the guild.”

“Freed…” Laxus began, before faltering, realising that now wasn’t the time or place for a lecture, although the words were there. Because this was a lot worse than the mission where he had realised how dangerous enchantments could be for the caster, and he was almost afraid to know just how much Freed had poured into that last barrier. Not that it took much imagination as Freed’s eyes were closing again, his grip on the Dragon-slayer’s wrist weakening and he took a shaky breath before leaning in, wanting to make sure that Freed heard his words. “You did it, you protected the guild.” A tiny smile, little more than a quirk of the lips that most people would have missed told him that his words had reached Freed before the Rune Mage went utterly lax in his grasp, and he had to fight back the panic that gripped him. _Freed…_    

    There was movement beside him, and he tensed, leaning protectively over Freed, as he braced for an attack, only to pause and look up as a familiar voice reached him.

“Let’s take them home,” Gray and Juvia had arrived while he was distracted, and it was the Ice Mage that spoke now, voice soft as he glanced at the unconscious Rune Mage, before tilting his head across to where Elfman already had Ever in her arms, and Mira and Lisanna were moving to awkwardly support Bickslow between them. No one made any effort to try and take Freed from the Dragon-slayer, even if there hadn’t been little flashes of lightning playing around him as he rose to his feet, they had all seen his worry in the guild and knew that he was blaming himself for this. Even though Freed himself had been the one to tell him to stay away. It was written in his scowl and the darkness in the blue eyes as he glanced across at the rest of the Raijinshuu and then back at the Rune Mage cradled in his arms.

“Yeah.”

_Freed, I’m taking you back to our home that you protected._


End file.
